Support strap arrangement



Oct. 30, 1962 I J. c. LANTIS 3,061,331

- SUPPORT STRAP ARRANGEMENT Filed July 5. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR.

JOHN C. LANTIS BY GLEIM 6 CANDOR FIG. 5 gg; gm

ATTORNEYS Oct. 30, 1962 J. c. LANTIS 3,061,331

SUPPORT STRAP ARRANGEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 3. 1959 FIG. 6

f; FIG. 10 26 INVENIOR.

\ JOHV GLANTIS BY GLEIM 8 CANDOR FIG. 9 gas/l A TTOBNE'YS Patented Oct.30,, 1962,

3,061,331 SUIPGRT STRAP ARRANGEMENT .Iohn C. Lantis, RR. 1, Box 23,Germantown, fihio Filed July 3, 1959, Ser. No. 824,8:38 4 Claims. (ill.289-159) This invention relates to an improved supporting straparrangement, and, in particular, this invention relates to an improvedsupporting strap arrangement for utilization as a safety belt device forvehicles, such as, automobiles, aircraft, boats, and the like; a cargotie-down or restraining strap device; and the like.

It is well known in the art to provide an elongated support strap havinga pair of oposed ends, each end being adapted to be detachably securedto a different portion of a supporting frame structure whereby thesecured support strap is adapted to define a confining area or Zonebetween the support strap and the frame structure. In this manner, thesecured support strap restraius or limits movement of objects placed inthe area or zone defined by the attached support strap.

Various support strap arrangements have been provided for various typesof air, land, and sea vehicles wherein one end of the support strap issecured to a wind-up device mounted to one portion of the supportingframe structure of the vehicle whereby the elongated support strap iswound upon the wind-up device when the strap is not being utilized. Theother end of the support strap is adapted to be detachably secured toanother portion of the frame structure by withdrawing or unwinding thesupport strap from the wind-up device whereby the secured support strapis utilized to restrain or limit movement of objects placed between thesupport strap and its associated supporting frame structure.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved supporting strap arrangement.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedsupporting strap arrangement having improved detachable fastening means.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved supportingstrap arrangement having means for selectively limiting movement of thesupport strap in the wind-up direction thereof.

Other objects, uses and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent upon a reading of the following specification taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof andwherein:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic, top view of a vehicle utilizing the improvedsupporting strap arrangement of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary axial crosssectional view of part ofthe supporting strap arrangement of FIGURE 1 and is taken on line 2-2thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 2 and istaken on line 33 thereof;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the framestructure illustrated in FIGURE 1 and is taken on line 4-4 thereof;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 and illustrates another portionof the frame structure illustrated in FIGURE 1, FIGURE 5 being taken online 55- of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 illustrates the opposite side of the frame structureillustrated in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary axial cross-sectional view ofanother part of the support strap arrangement illustrated in FIGURE 1and is taken on line 7-7 thereof;

FIGURE 8 is an end view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a top view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 7 and istaken on line 9--9 thereof; and,

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 illustrating the structurethereof in one of its operating positions.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawing wherein like referencenumerals and letters are used throughout the various figures thereof todesignate like parts where appropriate, and particular reference is madeto FIGURE 1 illustrating, schematically, a vehicle A having a pair ofopposed doors B and C and a supporting strap arrangement D of thisinvention extending between the doors B and C and secured respectivelythere to in a manner hereinafter described. The doors B and C form partof the frame structure of the vehicle A, the frame structure beingindicated generally by the reference letter E.

While the various embodiments of this invention are hereinafterdisclosed as being utilized as a safety support strap for an automobile,it is to be understood that the supporting strap structure hereinafterdescribed is readily adaptable for use as a safety support strap inother types of vehicles, as well as for utilization as a cargo tie-downor restraining strap arrangement, and the like.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the support strap arrangement D comprises anelongated, fiat, narrow, bendable support strap 16 formed of suitablematerial or materials, such as nylon webbing, leather, plastic,reinforced webbing, and the like. The support strap it has a pair ofopposed ends, generally indicated respectively by the reference numerals11 and 12 in FIGURES 2 and 3. The length of the support strap 10 isdetermined by the particular use thereof, and, in the embodiment illustrated in the drawing, the length of the support strap 10 is slightlygreater than the distance between the inside surfaces of the doors B andC as will be apparent hereinafter.

The end 11 of the supporting strap 1i) passes through a narrow slot 13formed in a first portion, generally indicated by the reference numeral14, of the frame B and is secured to a rotatable wind-up member F. Inthe particular embodiment illustrated in the drawing, the frame portion14 comprises an interior door panel usually formed from an upholsteredcomposition board suitably secured to the door frame skeleton and beingspaced from the exterior'metal panel thereof to provide a space forreceiving the associated window when lowered, the window operatingmechanism, and the like.

The rotatable wind-up member F includes a shaft or rod 15, rotatablysupported between two spaced, parallel support members 16 and 17respectively secured to the frame E in any suitable manner. Therotatable shaft 15 has a pair of opposed journals l8 and 19 respectivelyreceived in suitable bearing apertures formed in the support members 16and 17 whereby the rotatable shaft 15 is rotatably secured to the frameE.

The end 11 of the support strap It? may be secured to the rotatableshaft 15 in any suitable manner, and, in the embodiment illustrated inthe drawings, the end 11 of the support strap 10 is secured within aslot 2% formed in the shaft 15.

A pair of opposed washer-like collars 21 and 22 are suitably secured tothe shaft 15 and are disposed in spaced relation relative to each otherto accommodate the width of the support strap 10 in a manner later to bedescribed. A spring 23 is coiled about one end of the shaft 15 and hasan end 24 thereof suitably secured to the collar 22 and another end 25thereof secured to the support member 17. In this manner, the spring 23tends to rotate the shaft 15 in a wind-up direction whereby the supportstrap 10 is adapted to be wound upon the shaft 15 between the confiningcollars 21 and 22 thereof when the support strap 10 is not in use. 1

The other end 12 of the support strap 10 is secured to a rod or pin 26in any suitable manner, and, in the em bodiment illustrated in thedrawings, the end 12 of the support strap is secured within a slot 27passing transversely through the pin 12.

Slot means, generally indicated by the reference numeral 28, is formedin a second portion, generally indicated by the reference numeral 29, ofthe frame E, the frame portion 29 comprising the interior door panel ofthe door C. The slot means 28 includes a wide upper portion 30 adaptedto telescopically receive the pin 26 in a manner later to be describedand a narrow portion 31 interconnected with the wide portion 3% of theslot means 28, the narrow portion 31 of the slot means 23 being narrowerthan the width of the pin 26 for a purpose later to be described.

A keeper or bifurcated member 32 is secured to the rear side 33 of theframe portion 29 in any suitable manner and includes a pair of spacedparallel legs 34 and defining a narrow slot 36 therebetween which issubstantially aligned with the narrow slot portion 31 of the slot means28. A pair of tangs or projections 37 and 33 respectively extendoutwardly from the ends or the legs 34- and of the keeper 32, theprojections 37 and 33 being disposed intermediate the slot portions 3%and 31 of the slot means 28.

The operation of the supporting strap arrangement D will now bedescribed. Since the spring 23 tends to rotate the shaft 15 in thewindup direction, the spring 23 causes the support strap 10 to becontinuously wound upon the shaft 15 until the pin 26 is disposed inengagement with the frame portion 14 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE3. In this manner, the support strap in is kept out of the way when notin use and, thus, does not provide the disadvantages present withconventional safety belts.

When it is desired to extend the support strap it'd between the frameportions 14 and 29, the pin 26 is manually grasped and moved toward theframe portion 29 whereby the strap 10 is unwound from the shaft 15 inopposition to the tension force of the spring 23. As shown in dottedlines in FIGURE 7, the lower end 39 of the pin 26 is inserted at anangle through the wide portion 30 of the slot means 28 whereby the end39 of the pin 26 is projected beyond the tangs or projections 37 and 38of the keeper 32. The pin 26 is then moved vertically downwardly in theslot means 23 in such a manner that the strap 1% is telescopicallyreceived within the aligned narrow slots 36 and 31 of the keeper 32 andslot means 28 respectively. The length of the support strap 10 is sodesigned that when the pin 26 has been inserted in the slot means 28,only a very short piece of the support strap 1%) is still wound on thewind-up member F, the amount of the strap 16 being left on the windupmember F permitting only slight transverse movement of the spanningsupport strap 10 whereby impact shock is partially absorbed by thespring 23 and the flexibility of the support strap.

When the upper end 40 of the pin 26 has been moved vertically downwardlybelow the tangs 37 and 33 of the keeper 32, the pin 26 is moved axiallytoward the keeper 32 by the force of the tensioning means 23 whereby thepin 26 is forced into engagement with the keeper 32. Since the width ofthe pin 26 is substantially greater than the width of the slot 36 formedin the keeper 32, the end 12 of the strap 10 is effectively secured tothe frame portion 29 of the frame E.

The upper end 40 of the pin 26 is now disposed below the tangs 37 and 38of the keeper 32 in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 9 and isprevented from passing around the tangs 37 and 38 by the force of thespring 23. In this manner, upward movement of the strap 19, and thustransverse movement of the support strap 13 in the slot means 28, isprevented by the tangs 37 and 38 of the keeper 32 and the spring 23whereby the support strap 10 cannot be accidentally detached when apassenger is thrown toward the front of the vehicle A. Ac-

cordingly, the support strap 10 is firmly secured between the frameportions 14 and 29 of the frame E whercby the support strap 10 forms asuitable safety support strap for the vehicle A.

When it is desired to detach the support strap 19 from the frame portion29, the support strap 16 is grasped in the region of the frame portion29 and moved axially toward the frame portion 29 whereby the rigidity ofthe support strap 10 causes the pin 26 to move axially away from thekeeper 32 and whereby the upper end 49 of the pin 26 is moved axiallyfrom under the tangs 37 and 33 of the keeper 32. The upper end 40 of thepin 26 can then be removed through the wide portion 50 of the slot means28 by twisting the support strap 16 angularly with respect to the frameportion 29 whereby the support strap 16 is then detached from the frameportion 29 and is adapted to be automatically wound upon the shaft 15 bythe spring 23 in the manner previously described.

Sometimes it is desirous to have the support strap it) only be partiallywound upon the shaft 15 whereby the unwound portion of the support strapif can be laid on the car seat and the pin 26 easily grasped by theperson sitting adjacent the frame portion 29 of the frame E. A pluralityof small projections 41 are secured in spaced relation to the bottom ofthe support strap 10 and extend therefrom at selected predetermineddistances from the pin 26 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 10. Inthis manner, when the support strap If; i being wound upon the wind-upelement F, the wind-up action can be terminated by lowering the supportstrap 1?; relative to the slot 13 in the frame portion 14 whereby aselected projection 41 thereof abuts the frame portion and preventsfurther wind-up movement of the support strap it). Be merely raising thestrap 10 relative to the slot 13, the projection 41 can be permitted toclear the frame portion 14 and pass through the slot 13 wherebycontinued windup movement of the strap It? is effected by the spring 23.

While the vehicle A is shown as having only one slot means 28 formed inthe door C thereof, it is to be understood that a plurality of slots 28could be provided in spaced relation whereby the pin 26 could beselectively secured in a desired slot means 23. In this manner, thesupport strap 10 can be adapted to extend a predetermined distance fromthe seat of the automobile A, depending upon the size of the personutilizing the same or depending on the particular position of the seatrelative to the steering wheel.

Further, in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, it can be seenthat the support strap 10 prevents the doors B and C from beingaccidentally opened when the strap 10 is secured therebetween. Thus, thedoors B and C cannot be jarred open while the strap is in use.

While the foregoing presents preferred embodiments of the invention, itis obvious that other modifications and/ or equivalents may be employedwithout departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a frame having a first portion and a second portion,an elongated support strap having a pair of opposed ends, means securingone of said ends of said support strap to said first frame portion, saidmeans including tensioning means tending to draw said support straptoward said first portion of said frame, means for detachably securingthe other end of said support strap to second portion of said framewhereby said support strap is secured between said frame portions, andmeans carried by and projecting edgewise from an edge of said supportstrap engageable with said first frame portion for selectively limitingmovement of said support strap toward said first frame portion when saidother end of said support strap is detached from said second frameportion, said last-mentioned means comprising a plurality of projectionsextending outwardly from said support strap at predetermined distancesfrom said other end thereof, which projections are adapted to latchinglyengage said first frame portion and thus prevent further movement ofsaid support strap toward said first frame portion.

2. In combination, a frame having a first portion and a second portion,an elongated support strap having a pair of opposed ends, means securingone of said ends of said support strap to said first frame portion, apin secured to the other end of said support strap, means defining slotmeans in said second frame portion, said slot having a wide portionadapted to telescopically receive said pin and a narrow portion adaptedto receive said support strap when said pin is inserted in said slotmeans and disposed behind said narrow slot portion by moving saidsupport strap longitudinally in said slot means whereby said supportstrap is detachably secured between said frame portions, and meanscarried by said second frame portion tending to prevent longitudinalmovement of said support strap in said slot means after said pin hasbeen disposed behind said narrow slot portion, said means carried bysaid second frame portion comprising a bifurcated member secured to saidframe adjacent said slot means, said bifurcated member defining a slotaligned with said narrow slot portion and having projections extendingoutwardly from said second frame portion intermediate said Wide andnarrow portions of said slot means whereby said projections tend toprevent longitudinal movement of said support strap in said slot meansafter said pin has been disposed behind said narrow slot portion and onone side of said projections.

3. In combination, a frame having a first portion and a second portion,said second frame portion having a pair of opposed sides, an elongatedsupport strap having a pair of opposed ends, means securing one of saidends of said support strap to said first frame portion, said meansincluding tensioning means tending to pull said support strap away fromsaid second frame portion, a pin secured to the other end of saidsupport strap, means defining slot means through said opposed sides ofsaid second frame portion, said slot means having a wide portion adaptedto telescopically receive said pin and a narrow portion adapted toreceive said support strap when said pin is inserted in said slot meansand disposed behind said narrow portion, said narrow slot portion beingnarrower than the width of said pin, and a keeper secured to said frameand disposed against one of said sides of said second frame portion,said keeper having a narrow slot disposed in aligned relation to saidnarrow portion of said slot means and having projection means extendingaway from said one side of said second frame portion, said projectionmeans being disposed intermediate said wide and narrow portions of saidslot means whereby said pin is pulled against said keeper by saidtensioning means when said pin is disposed behind said aligned narrowslot portions in order to detachably secure said support strap betweensaid frame portions and whereby said projection means of said keepertends to prevent longitudinal movement of said pin in said slot means.

4. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein means are carried bysaid support strap for selectively limiting movement of said supportstrap toward said first frame portion when said other end of saidsupport strap is detached from said second frame portion and saidtensioning means tends to pull said support strap away from said secondframe portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,906,456 Farrand May 2, 1933 2,181,790 Pollock Nov. 28, 1939 2,210,287Fridolph Aug. 6, 1940 2,263,348 Barros Nov. 18, 1941 2,267,585 ChurchillDec. 23, 1941 2,480,915 George Sept. 6, 1949 2,488,858 Franz Nov. 22,1949 2,614,769 Nicholson Oct. 21, 1952 2,855,028 Matthews Oct. 7, 1958

